Life is Anybody’s Game

Alex Xu, 11th Grader || 10.04.18

Life is a competition. Throughout history, human beings have given their efforts to equalize this competition by removing all prejudices, especially here in America, which is considered the “land of opportunity” by many immigrants. Segregation is gone. Slavery disappeared. Now, people know they can reach for success by their own will without any obstacles in their way. However, obstructions have been building up in the path of Asian Americans. Asian Americans have emigrated from their native country to prove their worth in a system where any individual can pursue success, regardless of race and prejudice. Yet now America has denied them the chance for success because “Asians are too smart for their own good.” Whether this reason is true or false, the American education system has transformed this belief into a hindrance toward the opportunities of Asian Americans. Ironically, while America can now be said to be a diverse country, its education system looks down at Asians for being “so Asian” or too smart.

Each Asian individual is different from each other. Stereotypes classify Asian students as people who only study to aim for excellent grades. This is simply not true; plenty of Asians do not score A’s on their report card. However, the proportion of Asians who earn outstanding grades to the Asian population is greater than the proportion of white people earning outstanding grades to the white population. Asian parents are an important cause of the higher average academic scores of their children. Immigrating to America from foreign countries is extremely difficult. One needs significant reasons ways to enter America, such as wealth, connections, and intelligence. To emigrate from China to America, a person needs to pass a test. One needs smarts to pass this test, and if he or she does, then the gates to America are opened. Thus, a majority of the Asians who arrive in America have some intelligence that puts them above the rest of the people in their home country. So Americans should not classify all Asians by stereotypes but should understand that the Asian students who thrive well in school are the successful ones of their homeland.

Instead of lowering the standards of other races and increasing the standards of Asians, the education system needs to judge people based on merits and accomplishments without bias. When Asians get good grades, society becomes annoyed and expects that achievement from basically only them. All these stereotypes are made, which insults the hard work and the actions of Asians. Instead of mocking Asians for “being too smart for their good,” people should learn how to score higher academically; and the educational system should set a higher standard. To give opportunities toward those who lag behind in school would be unfair toward those who receive less opportunity. The educational system may even be jealous of the success of Asians. Thus, Asian students’ accomplishments need to be accepted, not rejected by society.

The education system needs to lift unnecessary weight off the shoulders of Asian Americans. Right now, it is lifting weights off the rest of the races and applying it onto Asians. No one can be too smart of their own good. It would only be true if the standard of education was at its zenith. Thus, the education of America may become inferior if people do not accept the higher achievements of Asian Americans. Asians can set an excellent example for success and improvement, but society does not buy it. Instead, the education system silently discriminates Asians through decaying their educational opportunities by denying entrance toward selective colleges. Immediately, a reform for a higher standard of education would be needed, not the affirmative action, which is the reform for more opportunities but less expectations.